All Forum Posts by: Johnson H.

@Angelo Wong will be hosting again this month as I won't be able to make it but I will be there for the April meeting!

Hi All,

It's another month and time for another real estate meetup! These meetups have had up to 82 BiggerPockets and Meetup.com members chatting about investing in the San Jose area and also out of state. Just come by and mingle, there is no set agenda. We welcome anyone who would like to attend!

When: Thursday, March 28th, 2019, 6:30pm (usually I'm around at 6!)

Where: Parktown Pizza Company (Find us in the back area/room this time.)

1350 S Park Victoria Dr
Milpitas, CA 95035
http://www.yelp.com/biz/parktown-pizza-company-milpitas?sort_by=date_desc

Please support the small business by spending some money and tipping for the great service we receive every month! (I don't pay for the space nor do I receive anything from the restaurant)

In lieu of the round of introductions due to noise, you may introduce yourself and/or list your haves and wants in the comments section of this meetup.

Looking forward to meeting new investors and seeing familiar faces.

Thanks,
Johnson & Angelo

South Bay , South Bay Meetup , Bay Area , Meetup , Meet up , Meet-up , San Francisco , Oakland , Berkeley , Alameda County , Contra Costa County , Solano County , Richmond , Hercules , Concord , Albany , Pittsburgh , Marin San Rafael , South Bay , Peninsula , Walnut Creek , Pittsburgh , Antioch , Pleasanton , Fremont , Castro Valley, San Jose, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Fremont, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Gilroy, Santa Cruz

Hi James, welcome to being a landlord in San Francisco. Here are some answers to your questions.

1. Since this is a house and if you rent out the entire house under one lease, there is no rent control but there is just cause eviction. Yes, there are minimum heat requirements of 68 degrees for certain times of the day. The SF rent board will answer your questions, see this link https://sfrb.org/landlord-tenant-information

2. For SFH, there aren't annual property inspections that I am aware of.

3. Take a look at Craigslist and Hotpads and look at rental comps to see where they are priced at without a parking spot. There is an impact for sure but there are many homes and units rented without parking these days as Uber, Lyft and buses are abundant. 

4. You'll need to wrap your head around just cause eviction. Thanks to Costa Hawkins, your SFH is not under rent control but is under just cause eviction. However, if the house has an in law or you rent multiple rooms under multiple leases for the house, it will be under rent control.

5. Yelp has a lot of good leasing agents and property managers.

@Shannon Phillips - Congrats on your success! It looks like you bought at a great time and have reaped the rewards. I don't think there is one right answer in your situation. There is also nothing wrong with sitting tight either. The high net worth portfolios that I have reviewed all have low leverage, some investors never sell property and continue to accumulate when the time is right. Having low leverage gives you flexibility to take advantage of great opportunities when no one else can. It also gives you staying power for when the next recession hits, whenever that will be. Also, being in CA, prop 13 gives you a great advantage in paying low property taxes versus other states where property taxes continue to increase as it is assessed annually on the value of the property. 

If you want to sell, I would sell your most troubled or pain in the neck properties. If you don't have any of those, sell those that are in rougher areas and keep the cream of the crop. I think rent growth and appreciation in the SF Bay Area is why you should stay in the area. I have invested out of state, the values of my homes increased tremendously but rents did not so I sold it all and am looking for long term plays here. 

I am sure by this time you have received a lot of marketing messages. Don't be swayed by the high yield numbers some folks pitch. Also, let me know if you need a portfolio lender as I can suggest some as well. Not many here on BP have reached your level of success so be careful to who you listen to. Good luck!

@Reggie Wirjadi - Sorry for the late response. I think buildings with an undeveloped first floor are gems in SF as you can easily build out the remaining space since it would be cheaper to build it out per square foot than what the market is selling for, you'll be adding value that way. 

Since you are looking to move and occupy, going the OMI route would be a great way as well. There are some pretty good discounts on properties that have low rents. You'll need some patience as well as an experience lawyer but the strategy would create value. A step further is completing a fast track condo conversion on a duplex which is the reason why duplexes sell at a premium compared to triplexes and fourplexes. You'll need someone else to own the other unit but this route would create a lot of value in some of the prime areas of the city. Just a few ideas for you, good luck!

I meant to say a local lawyer that has the experience in these matters before proceeding with a OMI. 

@E Omar Welcome to BP. I am born and raised in the Sunset and you have picked a great area to buy a duplex! The 800lb gorilla of an agent in the Sunset is Jason Chan. Janice Lee seems to also have a number of listings in the Sunset. After that, it seems like there are a ton of agents in the area that have one off listings.

I would say if you don't want the headache and to wait, you do need to find a duplex with a vacant unit. However, if you have the patience and some money, going with an OMI is a great way to get yourself into a duplex as the duplexes with low rents sell for a discount while those with vacant units sell for a premium. If you are willing do to the hard work of having a unit vacated and will live there for I believe more than three years, it would be worth it. You should speak with a local agent that has experience in these matters before deciding to do it.

@Angelo Wong will be hosting this month's event. I may not be able to attend. Feel free to ask him about his Airbnb empire!

Also, I forgot the keywords in my initial post:

South Bay , South Bay Meetup , Bay Area , Meetup , Meet up , Meet-up , San Francisco , Oakland , Berkeley , Alameda County , Contra Costa County , Solano County , Richmond , Hercules , Concord , Albany , Pittsburgh , Marin San Rafael , South Bay , Peninsula , Walnut Creek , Pittsburgh , Antioch , Pleasanton , Fremont , Castro Valley, San Jose, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Fremont, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Mountain View, Gilroy, Santa Cruz

Hi All,

It's another month and time for another real estate meetup! These meetups have had up to 82 BiggerPockets and Meetup.com members chatting about investing in the San Jose area and also out of state. Just come by and mingle, there is no set agenda. We welcome anyone who would like to attend!

When: Thursday, February 28th, 2019, 6:30pm (usually I'm around at 6!)

Where: Parktown Pizza Company (Find us in the back area/room this time.)

1350 S Park Victoria Dr
Milpitas, CA 95035
http://www.yelp.com/biz/parktown-pizza-company-milpitas?sort_by=date_desc

Please support the small business by spending some money and tipping for the great service we receive every month! (I don't pay for the space nor do I receive anything from the restaurant)

In lieu of the round of introductions due to noise, you may introduce yourself and/or list your haves and wants in the comments section of this meetup.

Looking forward to meeting new investors and seeing familiar faces.

Thanks,
Johnson & Angelo

@Kunal Shah - This thread was four years ago but looking at what I wrote it was a quote to put together a PPM for me to raise money for an investment, not someone looking to invest and having a lawyer review a ready put together PPM.